Broadway NewsCarousel, Starring Jessie Mueller, Joshua Henry, and Renée Fleming, Opens on Broadway April 12The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic returns to Broadway in a Jack O’Brien-helmed production.
By
Ryan McPhee
April 12, 2018
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel officially returns to Broadway April 12 in a new production at the Imperial Theatre. The staging, from Tony winner Jack O’Brien, celebrates its opening night after beginning previews in February.
Lindsay Mendez
Joseph Marzullo/WENN
Jessie Mueller, who earned a Tony Award for her performance as Carole King and most recently appeared on Broadway in Waitress, stars as Julie Jordan opposite Tony nominee Joshua Henry (The Scottsboro Boys, Violet, Shuffle Along, Hamilton) as Billy Bigelow.
Among those joining them are Grammy-winning opera star Renée Fleming in her Broadway musical debut as Nettie Fowler, Lindsay Mendez as Carrie Pipperidge, Alexander Gemignani as Enoch Snow, Margaret Colin as Mrs. Mullin, and Tony nominee John Douglas Thompson as the Starkeeper.
New York City Ballet’s Justin Peck choreographs the new staging, which also features the company’s Amar Ramasar and Brittany Pollack in the dance-heavy roles of Jigger and Louise.
Follow Playbill on Facebook to watch the cast and creative team greet Playbill live from the opening-night celebration, beginning at approximately 9:45 PM.
Rounding out the cast are ensemble members Colin Anderson, Yesenia Ayala, Nicholas Belton, Colin Bradbury, Andrei Chagas, Leigh-Ann Esty, Laura Feig, David Michael Garry, Garett Hawe, Rosena M. Hill Jackson, Amy Justman, Jess LeProtto, Skye Mattox, Kelly McCormick, Anna Noble, Adriana Pierce, Rebecca Pitcher, David Prottas, Craig Salstein, Ahmad Simmons, Antoine L. Smith, Corey John Snide, Erica Spyres, Ryan Steele, Sam Strasfeld, Halli Toland, Ricky Ubeda, Scarlett Walker, Jacob Keith Watson, and William Youmans.
Carousel, featuring music by Richard Rodgers and a book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, tell the story of millworker Julie Jordan, carousel barker Billy Bigelow, and their ultimately destructive relationship. The classic score includes such numbers as “If I Loved You,” “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over,” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
The Scott Rudin production features sets by Santo Loquasto, costumes by Ann Roth, lighting design by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, and sound design by Scott Lehrer.
The production will include Bernstein’s incidental music for Lillian Hellman’s adaptation of The Lark, and Menotti’s The Unicorn, The Gorgon, and The Manticore.
Based on the novel and film by Frank Cottrell Boyce, the new musical will reunite Guettel with Tony-winning Light in the Piazza director Bartlett Sher.
